“Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you?”

Nina, also known as Nina Alexandrovna, was born on November 4, 1812, into the family of poet and public figure Alexander Chavchavadze and princess Salomea Ivanovna Orbeli.

From a young age, she stood out for her extraordinary beauty, refined manners, and kindness. In 1822, Alexander Griboedov, while serving in Tiflis, often visited the Chavchavadze household. In 1828, after returning from Persia, he visited the family again and met the grown-up 16-year-old Nina. Falling in love with her, he received mutual feelings and, being a 33-year-old playwright and diplomat, asked her father for permission to marry. The age difference was not considered an obstacle at that time, and the groom possessed outstanding qualities, so the parents consented, and the lovers were wed in the Sioni Cathedral in Tiflis in September of that year.

After the wedding, Griboedov went back to Persia, and Nina accompanied him to Tabriz, despite her pregnancy and frequent illnesses. To spare her the hardships of a dangerous journey and life in a foreign country, Griboedov traveled to Tehran alone in December 1828, while Nina returned to Tiflis. In early 1829, she learned about the defeat of the Russian mission and her husband's death, which they had tried to conceal from her due to concerns for her health. This led to premature labor and the loss of her child.

When Griboedov's body was brought to Tiflis, Nina, following the deceased's wishes, arranged for him to be buried near the Church of Saint David (now the Mtatsminda Pantheon). At her initiative, a monument was erected at the grave with the inscription: “Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you?”

Nina Griboedova lived her entire life in Tsinandali and Tiflis, remaining in mourning for her husband and grieving his death. She never remarried, and her fidelity to her deceased husband became legendary even during her lifetime. In 1857, during a cholera epidemic in Tiflis, she died while caring for the sick. She was buried next to her husband and child.

Today, their grave is located in the cemetery near the Church of Saint David “Mamadaviti,” surrounded by a pantheon where many famous writers, artists, scientists, and national heroes of Georgia rest.